The worst aspects of this problem are that certain coincidences I believe Trump regards as similarities between himself and Patton as portrayed in the movie are now re-enforcing his delusional belief that he is very much like George Patton.

The biggest thing my hypothesis has going for it is if you momentarily embrace it, it explains pretty much everything and holds up to scrutiny from numerous angles. Of course its not perfect, but indulge me and then draw your own conclusion— BECAUSE COMMENTS ARE ENABLED!! Please weigh in if you feel so inclined!

The movie ‘Patton’ is a masterpiece of film making that starts with a very strong Francis Ford Coppola screenplay advised by none other than Patton contemporary and equal- General Omar Bradley himself. An inspired George C Scott gave a brilliant, authentic and career defining performance then blew off accepting his Best Actor Oscar to go to a hockey game, how cool is that? Throw in one of the best movie scores outside Star Wars to move it along from the great Jerry Goldsmith of Star Trek fame. The director was Franklin J Shaffner , fresh off “Planet of the Apes” success.

The fact is Film Appreciation 101 might save the planet were Trump forced to take the course. If he had he would have realized the Ironic Duality of the plot. Simply put the movie is all about introducing the open question of “Is Patton all that is Great and Gallant in the United States Military or is he all that is Wrong and Perverse about War and War Making?”

Why This Movie Is A Dangerous Influence on Trump

Trump’s fascination with Patton is a problem for a bunch of reasons. For one thing George Patton, despite his success, is a TERRIBLE role model for a politician or president. The real Patton was apparently non political, which makes sense. A wise choice since despite a rough charm he had no diplomatic skill or real personal charisma beyond the shock and awe of non stop profanity. While this is fine for a mid 20th century war time general, it’s just awful for a 21st century president!

The root of Trump’s many misconceptions seems to be that he is viewing the movie in a very simple manner. It seems likely Donald Trump never took a single film class. The fact is Film Appreciation 101 might save the planet were Trump forced to take the course. If he had he would have realized the Ironic Duality of the plot.

Simply put the movie is all about introducing the open question of “Is Patton all that is Great and Gallant in the Military? Or is he all that is Wrong and Perverse about War and War Making?” The movie seems to suggest he is both at the same time.

The movie analogizes very well to the 2016 Campaign, though spies play a more prominent role in the current situation, of course.

The characters line up as roughly this- Trump of course is Patton. Egotistical British General Montgomery , equally delusional and insane to only a slightly lesser degree, is ‘Crooked Hillary’. Patton’s very first aide in the movie who dies is BOTH original campaign managers AND Chris Christie (aside from the actual sorrow Patton felt,Trump we know is a stranger to empathy). Cod, his final aide is Kellyanne Conway and racist Steve Bannon. Omar Bradley and the US military are Paul Ryan and the Republicans. The German Military is the over-prepared Democratic Party, including their OP-O Researcher. Rommel is Bernie Sanders, the likely superior field commander made ineffective by a truly incompetent leader.

The movie opens with a ‘Patton Rally’. It’s a composite of Patton’s actual speeches delivered in front of a gigantic American Flag using George Scott’s incredible speaking voice to draw us in as he gives it to his troops in a loud and dirty fashion.

It’s very much a political looking arena and an Academy Award Moment defying the viewer to look away.

When Patton begins to speak he’s commanding and profane. He tells his men their better than anyone their opponents, who are subhuman creeps. He boasts about their training and weapons and says they’re destined to win. He speaks of violence and glory. Again, perfect for a wartime general, TERRIBLE for a president, but of course its not very different from what Trump says at his rallys.

There are some traits both the Man in the Movie and Trump share.

One similarity between Trump and Movie Patton would be the portrayal of Patton as very much Bipolar. He was probably ‘Manic Depressive’ in terms of that time. Both were spotty students at prestigious schools (though Patton was afflicted with dyslexia, an actual learning disability he overcame, showing some discipline and personal character). Both are only functional when attacking. Both are insulated from their mistakes by great personal wealth.

Anti-Patton Cartoon from “Patton” (1970)

Both loved media coverage of and yet bristled at the scrutiny that invites. Both earned the distinction of “Suspected Huge Fan of the Nazis” from the media in their time.

Neither could simply shut up for any length of time. While Trump uses tweets Patton would simply act in an outrageous manner (sound familiar?) til the press couldn’t look away.

Both seem to flirt with the idea of War for War’s sake (the Patton character admits this repeatedly).

Each guy has their own unique religious tastes Whereas Patton’s shown as being deep and sincere Trump’s religous ides are just parroted stuff and the fact he hired Pence. Similarly; Patton’s steadfast belief in re-incarnation and love of all things violent calls into question whether he is actually a christian. In the movie he hits his knees a couple of times but only in the most arrogant way in the most dire moments. This is not unlike Trump being beloved by extremist Christians despite a life of documented debauchery and sexual assaults (and now Stormy Daniels). The climax of this subplot is arguably also the climax of the movie. Patton, frustrated that the reality of the situation didn’t fit with his preconceived plan, basically ORDERS GOD TO CHANGE THE WEATHER AND APPARENTLY PULLS IT OFF. This only

reinforces his extreme vanity and puts a more dangerous edge on his genius.

Of course what we all know today about Patton’s Weather Prayer is that a warm front moved in and the snow simply stopped. That doesn’t blunt the forceful nature of the scene where Patton excoriates a regimental chaplain, telling him to write a prayer “good enough” for God to bother listening. Its very much like Trump’s contempt for the Pope and religion in general. The “Two Corinthians” Fiasco shows Trump has no religious knowledge or convictions but has no problem with rank hypocrisy and is therefore a bit less moral than Patton.

This sequence of the movie is meant to show Patton’s Hubris and psychopathy in pursuit of battle and it’s a very dangerous thing to take it literally as surely Trump does.

Another thing Trump and ‘Movie Patton’ have in common would be a total lack of understanding of whats called “Psychological Warfare”. In the film Patton is apparently baffled as to the importance of his mission leading up to D-Day- to be a weapon of mass distraction . Patton’s use as a decoy convinced Hitler to disregard an Actual Invasion and hold off forces that may well have turned the tide of the War itself , to await a Fictional Invasion that was never going to happen. It was key to pulling of the Allied Invasion of France.

Now consider Trump calling the Generals and the former president stupid repeatedly for broadcasting some details of their plan to destroy ISIS. He simply doesn’t understand the idea that you can cloud your opponents judgement to the point you can predict or even control his actions.

It’s too subtle for the movie character or Trump to grasp.

Both Trump and Patton have a deep disdain of giving out any government healthcare. Patton orders his hospital units not to admit Combat Fatigue, which he considers

Patton “shaming a coward”/ abusing a soldier

cowardice.

This was so insane even to 1940’s medical personnel they simply ignore him. That of course boomerangs on Patton in his version of a “Hot Mic on the Bus” moment. The General loses control of himself publicly and betrays his bi-polar nature and complete lack of empathy during a brutal screaming meltdown.

Of course I am talking of the scene where Patton slaps a ‘cowardly’ soldier in a Field Hospital, disgusting everyone and showing his troops how little he cares about them despite the bravado.

Real life Patton slapped more than one soldier more than one time til they actually had to discipline him and remove him from command. It was just like the self inflicted wound we see Trump give himself all the time.

Patton is benched and used as a decoy until after the D-Day Invasion, the battle he had waited all his life to fight in. He faces it like a pitcher caught doctoring a baseball and forced to miss a playoff start. In other words, with only a minimal thought of anyone else. Again Patton shows his view of war and command to be from the Dark Ages or perhaps early Renaissance at its most compassionate.

In his finest moments of triumph after receiving a new army to command, when prosecuting the war Patton is shown as petty and dismissive of his soldiers well-being and simply thinks of his Army as a whole. To Patton, when people get killed it’s like the Army itself is just trimming it’s fingernails. In other words; it’s a natural ongoing function of war.

Just as important as winning were the laurels and press adulation that came with it. When holding the spotlight Patton is grandiose in his actions while his words are always petty. Demonizing and denigrating his personal rivals, boasting of his the strength of his army. Its much like Trump with the exception of the part it’s actually appropriate for a general to have that attitude in time of war. Trump appropriating the George C Scott version of Patton in a political mode ISN’T appropriate at all, it worked though. A crass and abusive screed of insults and violent rhetoric are the hallmark of every Trump Rally ever

Patton and Trump have contempt for the abilities (and probably even the racial abstraction) of the Russians, despite Trump’s open admiration for Putin. Patton moves himself firmly onto the hot seat in the early postwar moments by repeatedly insulting people, specifically members of the russian military, the US President and that which would become NATO. Sound familiar?

Near the conclusion of the movie Patton is again being a prima donna for the press, riding a prized horse in a Baroque era stable. He’s absolutely embraced the role of Military Governor from a Medieval Perspective. He refuses to denounce the Nazi’s properly and defends his utilization of Hitler’s former minions in his administration. In the characteristically glib manner of a sociopath Patton simply analogizes the Nazi party to the Republicans and Democrats in America. Such is his arrogance he ignores the way the press are manipulating him and plays bluntly to them making a bellicose implied case for war and just basically checking off boxes on the list of traits of “Unfrozen Caveman Warlord”. The career of Patton is gutted by his insane statements and brutal medieval view of war, deemed just too out of touch with the 20th century to be any longer tolerated.

The movie closes with the disgraced Patton reflecting in how the Romans would celebrate a victory with a triumphant parade through Rome itself and a warning that all Glory is Fleeting.

Disturbing Conclusions and Thoughts-

It’s my theory that Trump see’s the story of Patton as that of an American who couldn’t lose cause he was an American and that he was an exceptional person who prospered BECAUSE he broke all rules and civility rather than IN SPITE OF THIS. I believe he sees his kooky Cabinet of Billionaire Ass kissers as equivalent to Patton’s highly trained and battle proven staff officers. This dangerous delusion casts crazy ex-General Flynn in the role of Omar Bradley, something so far from the truth it would be laughable of it weren’t absolute reality.

Based on his overtly displayed misunderstanding of the movie Trump shows he is dangerously militarily primitive and most comfortable with methods and ideas more commonly associated with the Nazi Germans than 20th century Americans.

Patton is a terrible role model for even most soldiers as he was always succeeding at he expense of higher all around casualties. He declined peaceful solutions whenever possible. He was always one mistake from disaster but circumstance connived him a series of unlikely wins. As a role model for a president Patton is a disaster.

Like Trump, Patton’s glory should never eclipse the incompetence of his enemies. It requires some historical perspective to understand. Patton was set loose in western Europe with a veteran army and ample supplies. Even more decisive the Germans are mandated by Hitler ONLY to plan against Patton in an area where they expect the Invasion that never comes in Calais. Rather than ever accepting that they must fight Patton they become intimidated and willfully ignorant of the reality due to Hitler’s rapid mental decline from seriously insane to non functional maniac between about 1942 and early 1944. Patton directly benefits. As far as the recent campaigns analogize think of this as being roughly the same as Hillary not going to states she considered ‘safe’, like the vaunted Democratic “Blue Wall” of reliably Democratic states , each of which she then lost by less than an under-attended football game worth of people. We know Trump appreciates this misstep because its one of his favorite riffs to go on from the ongoing “Thank You Rallies” that are a veritable torchlight parade for the guy.

Also like Trump, Patton did have a staff of soothsayers, but again, they were highly competent top notch merit promoted staff officers with great expertise as well. Trumps rag tag group of advisers is anything BUT top notch or Highly Competent.

Another unavoidable conclusion from the movie is that current 21st century Americans are actually LESS civilized than Americans of the mid 20th century, 75 years ago, or at the very least the Americans of 1970 when the film is made. Being at war since 9-11 surely is somewhat to blame for this. This suggests that assertions about a cult of ignorance and a desire to literally turn back the clock to early post world war 2, before the integration of the military, by the Trumpists are very much real and accurate.

There is still time to avoid the fate of the Germans and the fate of Patton, which is the final spoke of this wheel. Patton’s death was in a freakish car accident. Its long been imagined and even said that the General was killed by the CIA’s predecessor the OSS. If you watch the movie you’ll end up a little torn by that because clearly he was an enemy of peace in every form. Could Trump’s disdain for the Intelligence community and peoples sensibilities be such that there is action taken against him as well?

i am blatantly and undeniably a total Homer. On this Post i will Speak as a Homer and be most favorable to New York City
I love living here, not just because you hear every language spoken on earth including Pig Latin when you walk through midtown, but also because no one cares at ALL what the Hell you are all about. Dressed Like Darth Vader? Don’t expect a second look. Men in Daisy Duke shorts holding hands bother you? 3 times on every block. I’m pretty proud of my town.
Super Storm Sandy, the 9-11 Attacks, all absorbed and overcome by the

The NYPD is one of the most professional; law enforcement agencies in the world.

toughest, coolest people on Earth, the average New Yorker. When I get a chance to go abroad people want to confront me cause I’m a “yank”. The response? ”yank this, I’m from New York” instantly changes the conversation. Everyone has been or wants to come here. It’s a World City like London, Berlin, Amsterdam or Prague. If you went to Papua New Guinea and spoke to the average person you can bet they heard of New York. Hell, every disaster ever features a lone survivor in a New York Yankee cap (which is why I keep mine handy).

Comparison and Analysis
If you live her in New York and are intolerant your life will be sheer Hell. Everything would offend you. Glen Beck moved to some part of Teabagistan because he was SO intolerant people started to take offense at him constantly being offended and he became ostracized. That says a lot. Being intolerant is nearly an anathema here. Blatant bigotry is about the only way short of shoving people on the subway to get any reaction from a New Yorker.
We hate jerks. Wanna see something really funny? If you happen to be there when Bill O’Riley is at the Yankee game when they put him on the big screen he gets a chorus of hateful boos and cat calls. This is because he is intolerant. He’s also from Long Island, a place where almost every single celebrity is an embarrassing jerk. Rosie O’Donnell, Sean Hannity, Lindsay Lohan, that Nancy Grace looking fake psychic who calls herself a medium despite being an extra large on her thinnest day, the list of offensive Long Islanders goes on and on. There are also a bunch of talentless Baldwin’s embarrassing their only talented family member, Alec. Like Jerky Steven Baldwin who I would run into every time I went to my pot guy for like 3 years. He would just keep lording over us that he was going to be a rich actor like Alec. I was in no way shocked when he embezzled money from his charity and later tried to get people to send him money so he could be a freaky self-ordained Creflo Dollar sort of minister. It’s like a little chunk of Florida somehow migrated to our beautiful terminal moraine.
I think I speak for most of my friends and neighbors here when I say I think we benefit from the diversity. Some of my closest friends simply aren’t white or necessarily straight. They don’t come with any label but ‘friend’.
One of the things that enables this is a pretty damn good police force. Possibly the nations best. Sure there are definitely some awful policies like “Stop and Frisk” but they will also toss you in jail if you commit a Hate Crime In New Orleans their poorly regarded police force all fled the Unknown in the face of Hurricane Katrina. Not one

The Freedom Tower. A poor substitute for our iconic Twin Towers

New York City Cop hesitated to run towards near certain death when we were attacked that Tuesday morning in 2001. This is a big part of why new Yorker’s are more tolerant. They know that guilty people will likely be convicted, that the wheels of justice are somewhat more well oiled than in most other cities. Just look at Los Angeles. Their police hate the citizens and the citizens hate the police. Roughly every 10 years a major anti-police riot erupts due to lack of professional policing.
So what’s my peeve? I have a grudge against a small segment of our population. It’s a segment of population which remains pretty low everywhere but seems to be higher the further you get from a major city. Intolerant and ignorant people who live on the outskirts of New York and other parts of America where a major metropolis is too far away to exert any cultural influence.

The Connection between Tolerance and the Proximately to a Major Metropolis

While there are still plenty of reasonable exurbanites the intolerant ones have the biggest mouths. They are all over Social Media. They have no agenda, they simply are intolerant. So intolerant and frightened that I have gotten used to being labeled gay simply because I endorse the right for everyone to do whatever they want in a darkened room with a willing partner. Hey, it’s not my thing but I will defend this right to the end. Not because I am gay, which I am not, but because I just HATE small minded people. Unreasonable fears that being gay or smoking weed or whatever is somehow a contagious and dangerous plague and they are destined to be accosted by gay folk who are intolerant. From all appearances aside from the self despising Log Cabin Republicans (just one sub divison of the infamous Republican Cargo Cult) it seems the majority of people of all orientations are not suffering mentally with a deep inner disconnect between their orientation and dignity(Thankfully the conflicted people have many more options now).

The 1992 LA Riot. A direct result of a terrible Police Force creating intolerance

New York nor any other major metropolis doesn’t generate gay people, nature does that. It merely attracts people who have been discriminated against because it’s known as a tolerant place. After being discriminated against most people tend to hate and avoid becoming intolerant themselves.
My year in Florida was a real eye opener. I couldn’t believe the lack of worldliness displayed. Cops drinking in uniform and jumping into their squad cars obviously over the limit was a common sight. No one looked twice. Anyone in New York would have been outraged and reported this behavior.Think about it. This is an armed cop in uniform. What if something goes down in America’s second most violent city? Like THAT cop will have the judgment to do his job? Sure he may be off duty but he’s obviously a cop and your go to guy if something happens while he’s in your establishment. Unlike violent crime on the streets the cop can’t simply ignore it or wait a half hour to show up. He’s right there when it happens. How can someone so dumb as to not so much as keep a polo shirt in the squad car when they head out boozing so as not to disgrace the uniform even GET the job of cop? This is one thing that should NOT be tolerated. It shows how little regard the local authorities have for the public. How George Zimmerman managed to not get hired as a cop is actually a shock.
Maybe it’s because aside from being stupid he would have set a bad example by actually attempting to do his job? He would have sucked at it but that’s the norm in Orlando and Sanford anyway. I am not praising this murderer, I am hoping for justice for Trayvon Martin. I am just saying the guy became a self appointed cop for free and did it with misguided zeal. Imagine where some education, police training and tolerance would have taken him. Right now the lack of those things may well get him slipped the Needle Of Justice in Florida, which is in a sick competition with Texas to have the most executions, worst cops, most insane gun laws and highest teen pregnancy rates in America
Drink in uniform in New York your off the Force. Aside from letting Casey Anthony walk, the unprofessional police force is as likely to frame an innocent guy as they are to catch a guilty one. If they are a minority their chances of beating the system, no matter how innocent is remote.
Everyone is packing heat all the time. Florida has one million concealed caryy permits alone. I am not that into guns but the random and violent nature of crime in Orlando was truly frightening. Because the Orlando Police Department as well as the PD in neighboring Sanford are more a threat to the average citizen, through poor response time and their “fuck it” attitude, I can’t really argue. #1 in abandoned children and nestled between Camden, NJ and Flint, Michigan as the 2nd most violent city in America, I guess it makes sense. Why have all those

Murderer George Zimmerman, note even the cop in the picture is texting. Is it any surprise idiot vigilante’s think they can do a better job?

overpaid government workers when you can have do it yourself law enforcement with laws like “Stand Your Ground”? Another way to say stand your ground would be “No witness, no murder.”
Then there are people walking around with tattoos from Leviticus condemning homosexuality. 2 verses later it says tattoos are a mortal sin. Selective reading of the Bible and selective reading of the Constitution and Bible are backed up by schools filled with semi qualified core of teachers and a mass of permanent subs don’t really inspire the best learning and the first casualty is the Analytical Skills we need to truly understand the world. For example- 9 hours to maybe get a chance to vote? THAT’S what you get as an American Citizen? My hurricane ravaged city had all votes counted by 2 am. This despite a complete lack of basic utilities like electricity. Somehow Florida managed to finish just about a week ago. Is there any doubt that the small minded governor and his inhuman Cylon supporters are more concerned that the presidential election is going to be decided by a guy THEY chose beforehand….again. The reason again is Intolerance. Fear of ex Republicans Cubans as well as moderate thinking voters from the Caribbean, Mexico and pretty much anywhere else where people fulfilled their dream of being one of the best, an American.
Enter the Tea Party and their insipid poison. Hateful policies that included idiocy so bad that Christian Slater, who must have done 20 feature films, was not recognized even with all his ID. This is willful ignorance. Recently Slater received

Christian Slater’s Ballot Rejection letter. I guess they will say he’s obscure and no one recognized him?

word his ballot was rejected. The Board of Elections, whose complex ballots, which allegedly take 45 minutes to certify apparently rejected the ballot because the idiot reading it mistook his signature as reading “Christiana DiSilva”. Think they thought he was a latino woman and targeted his vote? If you have a better answer leave me a comment. Not disgusted yet? Read on.
The militant and completely psychotic Anti Choice movement, despite overt violent acts and accosting people all day on the street are never subject to police supervision. This to me is because the already undereducated person whose intellect has been severely inhibited due to substandard schools. This is a great payback for the Republicans who destroyed their states public school system. The real intent was republicans hate to give anything away for free when there’s ANY chance of charging for it. This combined with Governor Rick Scott’s lies and insane social policies. Theres a REASON social studies textbooks are boring, social studies is the only subject most are required to take all 4 years of High School. It’s also the only class where you develop critical and analytical skills. Killing and rewriting history with preposterous concepts like re-branding the Civil War as the War of Northern Aggression.
People in Florida may have gotten screwed by their education system, but they aren’t stupid and they aren’t all a bunch of racist Yay-hoos distilling moonshine deep in the swamp. Those people do exist but if they are in any way political they usually default to Ron paul, probably because they hate themselves. Making Ron Paul president would be like having an entire nation commit suicide by cop, but that’s another post. Most Floridians are newly minted Democrats willing to stand in line for 8-10 hours to get a chance to vote.
Why? Because tolerance is spreading. The granting of rights to the LGBT community

This shirt is shocking, not because of the message, but because its all spelled correctly

are not an offensive idea to most Americans. People have seen that this is no threat to any other kind of marriage. The Tea Bagger talking points ring hollow. Their lies and misinformation could only be maintained for so long. The truth confronted people every day. Truths like that life was a little worse every one of those miserable 8 years when future failed presidential candidate and then Governor Jeb Bush threw their votes away and made his dimwitted brother president despite being soundly defeated. The wars and the recession that has been a hallmark of both George H.W. Bush and the completely incompetent George W Bush administrations didn’t help the world to be a better place. Later it was proven that no invasions were EVER necessary. It was stoking the flames of intolerance that ignited by the preventable 9-11 Attacks.
History shows us that successive generations are progressively more reasonable. Still, every once in a while it skips a generation and we retrograde into stupidity for a time. This time it was the aptly named “Me generation” now in their 60’s that just didn’t get it. The same people who were too selfish to serve their country in what they called an Immoral War were the same ones who showed up dressed as 18th Century Patriots bitching that they are the last generation to deserve Medicare. They conveniently changed their positions on war when they passed out of military age. They lost all compassion as they luxuriated in the prosperity they inherited and have all but destroyed.
The good news- These people are old and their sick ideas will die with them.